I have five adult sows that have gotten along beautifully for the past 2 years. Snorkmaiden, aka Snorkie, is the oldest. She is at least 5 years old, but possibly 6, since I adopted her after she was abandoned at a pet store.
Snorkie has lived with her four “sisters” for the past 2 years and everything was peaceful until now. It all started with some health issues. Snorkie was treated for a URI, and then for an ovarian cyst, but we did not separate her from the herd throughout these issues because we didn’t want to throw off the hierarchy. (She is now healthy besides some age related arthritis.)
So after all that, most of the other sows have started picking on Snorkie. The dominant sow, Yasha, being the worst offender of them all- Yasha chases her away from food and water, lunges at her, chitters at her, and sometimes mounts her. I have found scabs all over Snorkie’s body as a result of these clashes. So now, poor Snorkie hides all day and night in her castle. She has lost weight because she is too scared to come out for food, and reacts fearfully when the other pigs are near. The only kindness she receives is from us, and her closest pig friend, Mymble, who has not bullied her nearly as badly as the others, if at all.
I’m really struggling with what to do. The girls live in a spacious custom cage that we built just for them but she just stays in one spot all day. She hardly moves so she ends up sitting in her own waste and we have to bathe her regularly. When we went to a vet to see about her weight, the vet advised us to separate her from the herd. It breaks my heart to think of her being alone, though. So here’s what I’m thinking and I’d love any input:
Option 1. Separate Snorkmaiden by adding a partition in the pig cage so she can see be around the other sows but not be in danger of being attacked. She will have her own food, water, hides, toys, everything.
Option 2. Separate Snorkmaiden with Mymble and leave the other 3 girls together. Downside to this is Mymble is bonded to the other 3 girls and I would hate to put them through all that stress and then risk them not getting along if I have to reintroduce Mymble at a later date.
Option 3. Do nothing? Maybe add some more food and water resources and hope this storm passes? Stresses me out just thinking about it. ): Snorkie is frail and elderly and I just don’t want her to endure this stress and fear any longer.
What isn’t possible is adding another pig. I simply don’t have to space or resources for a 6th sow.
Snorkie has lived with her four “sisters” for the past 2 years and everything was peaceful until now. It all started with some health issues. Snorkie was treated for a URI, and then for an ovarian cyst, but we did not separate her from the herd throughout these issues because we didn’t want to throw off the hierarchy. (She is now healthy besides some age related arthritis.)
So after all that, most of the other sows have started picking on Snorkie. The dominant sow, Yasha, being the worst offender of them all- Yasha chases her away from food and water, lunges at her, chitters at her, and sometimes mounts her. I have found scabs all over Snorkie’s body as a result of these clashes. So now, poor Snorkie hides all day and night in her castle. She has lost weight because she is too scared to come out for food, and reacts fearfully when the other pigs are near. The only kindness she receives is from us, and her closest pig friend, Mymble, who has not bullied her nearly as badly as the others, if at all.
I’m really struggling with what to do. The girls live in a spacious custom cage that we built just for them but she just stays in one spot all day. She hardly moves so she ends up sitting in her own waste and we have to bathe her regularly. When we went to a vet to see about her weight, the vet advised us to separate her from the herd. It breaks my heart to think of her being alone, though. So here’s what I’m thinking and I’d love any input:
Option 1. Separate Snorkmaiden by adding a partition in the pig cage so she can see be around the other sows but not be in danger of being attacked. She will have her own food, water, hides, toys, everything.
Option 2. Separate Snorkmaiden with Mymble and leave the other 3 girls together. Downside to this is Mymble is bonded to the other 3 girls and I would hate to put them through all that stress and then risk them not getting along if I have to reintroduce Mymble at a later date.
Option 3. Do nothing? Maybe add some more food and water resources and hope this storm passes? Stresses me out just thinking about it. ): Snorkie is frail and elderly and I just don’t want her to endure this stress and fear any longer.
What isn’t possible is adding another pig. I simply don’t have to space or resources for a 6th sow.
